A blatant disregard and an encroachment to the powers vested only to Congress was how Sen. JV Ejercito on Friday described ​the ouster of Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno by the Supreme Court via a quo warranto petition.

“While the full decision of the SC has yet to be made public, I find the decision of the high court on the quo warranto petition as an encroachment on the exclusive right of Congress to impeach and try impeachable officers,” Ejercito said.

“Regardless of one’s position with respect to the charges against the Chief Justice, what is alarming is the blatant disregard of the highest court of the land,” he added.

As public officials, Ejercito reminded the SC magistrates that they took an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution.

“That is our sacred duty,” he said.

Ejercito echoed the position of his colleagues on the matter of ousting Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno only through impeachment proceedings and not via the petition filed by Solicitor General Jose Calida in which the SC, voting 8-6, granted.

​D​espite what he noted as setback in the bureaucracy, Ejercito urged the public to remain calm.

“Let us not lose our confidence in our democracy. Our institutions and our people have, on many occasions, demonstrated their resiliency in the face of assaults on our democracy,” Ejercito said.

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